When it comes to making movies, Ball State has established a national reputation as the best film school without a film school. The university has won multiple student Academy Awards and more than 20 regional Emmy Awards since 2000. And one of the university's recent efforts, My Name is Jerry, has been heralded nationally by Inside Higher Ed, citing the project as the "Birth of Ball-E-Wood."

To promote the movie, Ball State grabbed another arrow from its technology quiver—emerging media. A student marketing team gave fans behind-the-scenes peeks through postings on YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and other sites. Daily posts were also made on the Jerry Web site, which included a blog with bloopers, interviews, photos, news releases, games, and original videos involving actors from the movie, such as the "Jerry rap."

The film had done well on the festival circuit:

• 2009 International Filmmaker Festival: winner of Best Picture, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Catherine Hicks), and Best Soundtrack (Rick DiGiallonardo); nominated for Best Director (Morgan Mead) and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Doug Jones)
• Route 66 Film Festival: Best Feature Comedy 2009
• selected for screening at the 2009 Heartland Film Festival
• accepted in the Tacoma Film Festival
• accepted in the Grand Rapids Film Festival
  

Along with gaining notoriety for the film, these accolades mean that all who worked on the film can identify their contributions on résumés and for professional consideration.

"For students, it means that an immersive learning experience of this kind paired them with professionals who can meet the standards of the film and media worlds—they learned from the best," said Rodger Smith, director of the university's Institute for Digital Entertainment and Education. "That recognition, added to the experience of making the film, means that students had a win-win—a professional credit from a learning environment."

Away from the silver screen, Ball State is also developing other emerging media entertainment. A recent effort saw more than 50 students from the College of Fine Arts, the Miller College of Business, and the Institute for Digital Entertainment and Education (IDEE) create Evenly Odd, a humorous webisode series.

The initiative places audience members in the driver seat and allows them to control their viewing experience. Students employed a newly developed platform for interactive emerging media environments that can be used online as well as on tomorrow's digital televisions. They built the Evenly Odd Web site in a way that allows viewers to watch the webisodes or select from the student-created special features.

These in-depth initiatives showcase Ball State's leadership in emerging media and immersive learning. And with Ball State students leading many of these efforts, they will go on to be tomorrow's leaders in this burgeoning industry.